The shop assistant lounged back in his chair, not even bothering to stand. He merely raised his eyelids and looked down his nose at Huo Yuhao, drawling in a flat, indifferent tone:
"What are you buying? Take a look for yourself. The prices are all on the labels. Let me know when you've made your choice."
Huo Yuhao paid no mind to his rude attitude, his expression unchanged.
He reached into his clothes, took out a neatly folded slip of paper, and gently placed it on the counter before pushing it over.
On the slip was a list of medicinal ingredients he had written out in advance.
The shop assistant reached out carelessly, pinched the paper between two fingers, and unfolded it lazily—
His gaze fell on the first line, and his eyelid twitched.
It moved to the second line, and his brow furrowed slightly.
By the third line, his formerly slouched body had unconsciously straightened up.
Three liang of Body Tempering Flower, at least three years old, intact with roots.
Five qian of Bone Refining Grass, two years old, preferably with thick stems and leaves.
Thirteen medicinal ingredients in all, from the primary herbs to the supplementary ones. Each was clearly listed, with the required age, quality, and processing specifications all noted in detail.
This wasn't some "shoddy prescription" written by an amateur. This was the work of an expert!
He quickly estimated the market price of the ingredients in his mind—
Three liang of Body Tempering Flower, about four Silver Soul Coins; five qian of Bone Refining Grass, about one Silver Soul Coin...
With the other supplementary ingredients added in, one batch of medicine would cost at least fifteen Silver Soul Coins!
And this young man didn't want just one batch. He wanted twenty.
The shop assistant roughly calculated the total in his head. It would be at least twenty Gold Soul Coins!
He'd just been mocking the boy for being a pauper, and now the boy was making a purchase that would cost as much as an ordinary Soul Master's family spent in several years!
The cold arrogance on the shop assistant's face froze in place.
He looked up and studied the black-haired youth in simple clothes again. His gaze was complicated, with a hint of awkwardness, suspicion, and disbelief—
Could this guy be messing with him?
He cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice steady, but couldn't hide the sour doubt in it.
"This list... are you sure? These ingredients aren't cheap, and you want twenty batches. That'll cost more than twenty Gold Soul Coins. Do you... have that much money?"
He deliberately stressed the words "more than twenty Gold Soul Coins," as though he hoped the figure would "scare" the other boy off and expose his true circumstances.
Huo Yuhao said nothing.
He simply looked quietly at the shop assistant, who had first been arrogant and was now full of suspicion. His brow furrowed slightly.
He wasn't angry. He wasn't even particularly displeased.
He didn't care about other people looking down on him. After more than ten years of struggling in his previous life, what cold stares hadn't he seen?
He just felt that this was a waste of time—especially having to talk with someone so narrow-minded and persistent. It was starting to wear on his patience.
Just as Huo Yuhao was about to take out the Gold Soul Coins and end this pointless questioning in the most direct way possible—
"Yuan Bing, what's all the racket about?"
A deep, steady voice suddenly came from the back of the shop.
Huo Yuhao looked up.
A middle-aged man of about fifty lifted the curtain to the back room and strode out.
He was tall, with a straight back, and wore a plain, dark teal robe. Though the fabric was ordinary cotton and linen, it was immaculately clean, lending him a composed air of unadorned simplicity.
His features were square, with thick brows, deep-set eyes, and a high nose. His temples were touched with gray, but his eyes were bright and alert, his gaze like still water running deep—gentle on the surface, with a sharpness hidden beneath.
He had clearly heard the commotion at the counter from the back room. His gaze first swept over the shop assistant, "Yuan Bing," whose face had turned an awkward red and white, then settled on Huo Yuhao, standing quietly in front of the counter.
Just one glance.
There was no pressure in it, yet it seemed to pass over Huo Yuhao from head to toe.
It wasn't a probe using spiritual power, but the perceptive gaze of someone who had met countless people and seen through the ways of the world.
A hint of surprise flickered through the middle-aged man's eyes, almost too subtle to notice.
A youth faced with the shop assistant's obstruction and skepticism hadn't shown the slightest anger or offered a single word of argument. He had simply waited in silence. Such composure was rare at his age.
And the contrast between those calm eyes and his simple clothes made him all the more intriguing.
When Yuan Bing saw the shopkeeper come out, his face flushed red and then pale. He awkwardly lowered his voice and briefly explained what had happened, not forgetting to defend himself with excuses such as, "He looked so young, so I was afraid he'd been tricked into buying expensive ingredients," and the like.
The middle-aged man listened, then slightly furrowed his brow.
He didn't immediately reprimand Yuan Bing. Instead, he turned to him first and spoke in an even voice, though there was an unmistakable authority in it.
"The Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion has been open for forty-three years. We've served everyone from nobles to peddlers and laborers, and I've never heard of a rule that says 'judge a person's wealth by their clothes.'
"You're an employee of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion. When a customer comes in, your duty is to introduce the ingredients, calculate the bill, and take payment or give change.
"Since when is it your place to 'worry' about whether a customer has enough money?"
Yuan Bing's face reddened. He lowered his head, not daring to say a word.
"Apologize to this young customer."
The middle-aged man's voice was still even, but his words were an order that left no room for argument.
Yuan Bing bit his lip. In the end, he didn't dare defy him. Facing Huo Yuhao, he spoke so softly that he could barely be heard. "...I'm sorry. I was blind to your worth, and I spoke rudely..."
Huo Yuhao glanced at him but said nothing, merely nodding faintly.
He had no intention of holding a grudge against someone like that.
Only then did the middle-aged man turn his gaze back to Huo Yuhao. He smiled sincerely, cupped his hands, and spoke in a warm, formal tone.
"My surname is Yao, and my given name is Sheng. I'm the proprietor of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion. My employee was shortsighted and treated you poorly. I hope you'll forgive him, young brother."
He paused, then took a dark teal card, about the size of his palm, from his sleeve and offered it to Huo Yuhao with both hands.
The card looked neither like wood nor anything else. It felt smooth and warm to the touch. The words "Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion" were engraved on the front, with an old-fashioned "10% off" mark beneath them.
"This is a ten-percent discount card from our shop, offered as an apology. Whenever you come to the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion to buy medicinal ingredients, no matter how much you spend, you can use this card to get ten percent off. Please accept it."
He carried himself with humility and spoke with sincerity, not at all like the proprietor of a long-established shop throwing his weight around.
Huo Yuhao looked at the discount card, then at Yao Sheng's steady, sincere eyes.
He didn't refuse. He reached out, took the card, and put it away in his clothes.
Then he met Yao Sheng's gaze and said evenly, "Thank you, Shopkeeper Yao."
Those five words meant that he accepted the apology and goodwill.
Yao Sheng's smile deepened a little.
He then turned to Yuan Bing and instructed him, "Prepare twenty batches of the ingredients on this young brother's list, selecting the freshest stock and the finest quality.
"Also, I remember we have a batch of premium Body Tempering Flower in storage, harvested last year. They're just over three years old. Bring out the best of them."
After what had just happened, Yuan Bing naturally didn't dare say another word. He hurried off to the storeroom to fetch the goods.
Before long, twenty carefully selected batches of herbs, all in perfect condition, had been carefully wrapped and packed in a sturdy wooden box, which was brought to the counter.
Huo Yuhao glanced over the quality of the ingredients and nodded slightly.
There was a reason the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion had become the most highly regarded of the old-established shops. The quality of its ingredients was even better than he had expected.
He didn't waste any more time. Reaching into his clothes, he took out a handful of Gold Soul Coins.
The golden coins formed a small pile on the counter, gleaming with a warm metallic luster.
Yuan Bing's pupils contracted sharply.
That was... a full forty Gold Soul Coins!
At market price, the twenty batches of ingredients would cost a little over thirty Gold Soul Coins. With the ten-percent discount, the actual price would be just over twenty.
And this youth in coarse clothes had tossed down forty Gold Soul Coins without even blinking!
He'd been mocking the boy for being poor, and the money the boy had casually taken out was worth more than ten years of his wages!
Yuan Bing felt his face burn. He wished the ground would open up and swallow him.
Huo Yuhao paid no attention to his embarrassment.
He calmly settled the bill, then put the wooden box full of medicinal ingredients into his Storage Ring. He gave Yao Sheng a slight nod. "I'll take my leave."
With that, he turned and strode out of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, unhurried and at ease.
Behind him, Yao Sheng watched the slender figure disappear into the sunlight outside. Surprise and admiration filled his eyes.
"This young man... is no ordinary person," he murmured to himself.
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